Breathe 2 am
by april060917
Summary: Booth/Brennan. My first Bones fanfic. Based on the song "Breathe  2am " by Anna Nelnick. One of the  ways I'd like to see Brennan and Booth get together because we all know they belong together. ;D  Read, review, and enjoy. Suggestions are always welcome!
1. Chapter 1

"Breathe"

_Inspired by "Breathe" by Anna Melnick. This is my first Bones fanfic, so read, review, and enjoy!_

_Disclaimer- If I owned anything, Bones and Booth would have been together a LONG time ago but unfortunately I own nothing except the idea behind the story. Character and their likeness are property of Hart Hanson and Fox._

**CHAPTER ONE**

Booth's cell phone rang and vibrated on the night stand next to his bed, startling him out of a deep sleep. He groaned and sat up slowly. He tuned on the lamp on the nightstand and turned to look at the clock. It was two in the morning. Who the hell could be calling at this time of night? Whoever it was; it was probably important. So he reached over to get a hold of his phone. He jabbed at the call button and muttered sleepily, Hello?

Booth? It's me. The female voice on the other side of the line snapped him out of any remaining sleep and suddenly he was wide awake.

Bones? Is that you? Are you okay?

No. Her voice sounds shaky and unsteady, perhaps a bit frightened too. I need you to come get me.

What's wrong? Where are you? He says getting out of bed. He pulls on a pair of pants and a shirt. Then he turns on the lights in his bedroom and roots around for his keys.

I'm at the Wave.

The Wave? That's in Mount Pleasant. Bones what are you doing there?

Can you just come? She says. When she speaks her voice trembles a bit. It alarms him to hear her voice like that. He climbs into his car and says, I'm on my way. I'll be there as soon as possible.

He drives hazardously but manages to get there in only 15 minutes. He spots Bones pacing around the front corner and she looks relived to see him. He opens the door from the inside and she scrambles in the car. She avoids looking at him but he can tell she's been crying. She's dressed up; wearing crimson colored slim fitting tank top, a pair of black jeans and black pep toe pumps. She looked amazing but it was clear she was upset about something.

Are you okay? He asks.

I don't want to talk about it. Can you just take me home?

He doesn't answer but he starts to drive. They drive to her house in silence. Once they arrive, he pulls up to the curb but she juts sit in the car, unable to move. She reacts after a few minutes and places her hand on the door handle. But just as she's about to get out, he says, I know you don't want to tell me what happened. But whatever you need you know you can always count on me. Just like tonight. I'm always here for you, whatever you need. I just… He lays his hand on her arm. I wish you'd let me be there for you. As more than a friend. Brenan, I want to be your somebody.

She looks back at him, at the sincerity in his eyes. It hurts to look at him, knowing that she couldn't respond in the way he wants her to and knowing that her next move might break him.

I can't do this. I'm sorry. She says as she opens the car door. She slams the door shut and runs up the stairs to her building and disappears inside. Something inside him clicks and he feels another brick of heartache, fall on to the growing mountain of his anguish.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you for the suggestions and reviews. Oh and apparently the artist's name was Anna Nalick. It must have been a typo. Anyways, the disclaimer still applies and unfortunately, I still own nothing. Read review and enjoy, as always!_

**CHAPTER TWO**

Going into work was hell. As if she didn't already feel bad enough, the judgmental stares and whispers made her feel even worse. Word traveled fast and somehow everyone had found about her conversation with Booth. The stories circulating pinned her as cold and heartless. Finally, one afternoon, Angela confronted her about the office gossip, in Brennan's office. Temperance was sitting at her desk going over several papers when Angela walked in.

"Sweetie, we need to talk." She started off, closing the door behind her. Brennan looked up from her work and said, "There's nothing to talk about."

"Of course there is. Why won't you give him a chance? You know he's crazy about you."

"I don't know what that means. And it's not so much that I won't give him a chance. It's that I can't."

"What do you mean?"

"Ange, do you know the whole story?"

"All I know is that you and Booth had a talk over the weekend and he practically begged you to give him a chance but you refused him. Again."

"It's not that simple Ange. I wish it was." She pauses before continuing. "I called him on Sunday morning, just before dawn and asked him to come pick me up… from a club in Mount Pleasant. I met a guy online and we'd been dating for a few weeks. The other day, he called me and told me about this club his friend owned. He said we could get in for free so I consented to go with him. He picked me up Saturday night and we went to dinner first. Everything was going fine until we got the club. He started drinking too much and I'd had a couple of drinks myself. He started trying to romance me and we did go to a private back room. But then he started to get rough. We were kissing and he pushed me against a wall. I tried to get away but he kept trying to force me to stay down. Fortunately, he was too drunk to walk straight, so I was able to overpower him. But as I started to leave the room, three other men showed up. They tried to keep me in the room. They kept saying they just wanted to have a little fun. I knocked them out and ran and that's when I called Booth. He was the first number on my speed dial. I was still a bit shaken up when he showed up and I felt stupid and foolish for agreeing to go to a strange part of town alone with a stranger in the first place. Booth must have sensed something was wrong because he kept asking me if I was okay. I couldn't tell him how stupid I had been, to go out with a guy I met online and I knew nothing about. I just asked him to take me home. I guess he sensed I was upset because when we got to my apartment, he pulled up to the curb and started saying he wanted to be there for me as more than a friend. And when I looked at his face it was heartbreaking, Ange. I can't do it. The possibility of failure is too great, especially with my track record in relationships and I can't hurt him like that. I care about him too much and… I don't think either of us could make it," she finishes quietly.


	3. Chapter 3

_(FYI- The story was written to follow the format of the song (mentioned in chapter one) so a few things may seem out of place or character, but I left them like that because I love this song.)_

_Disclaimer still applies. As always, read, review, and enjoy!_

**CHAPTER THREE**

Booth downed his tenth straight shot in the past five minutes. It had become his routine. When he was not at work, he was at a bar. It was his way of numbing the pain; the constant throbbing pain he had been unable to get rid of ever since Bones had rejected him, again. He was not used to rejection, let alone so many times, so he was in close proximity to his breaking point. He could not avoid her altogether because the only thing more painful than seeing her everyday and being unable to reach her, would be not seeing her everyday. She was his partner and the best anthropologist in the world, not to mention a vital part of his job. But that did not diminish the pain he felt every time he saw her. Although he could not do anything to ease the suffering at work, he could eviscerate his pain after hours. So he came here to cope, after hours. He always managed to keep his work and personal problems separate; although he would occasionally he would show up to work with a strong hangover, when his hand slipped and he downed one too many drinks. Today was especially hard, it being his birthday and all, which added unnecessary weight to his pain. Ever since they became partners, he had spent every birthday and important occasion with Bones. Alcohol seemed to numb his pain and help him forget eh good times, so he kept the drinks going all night, until he started to faze out. He loses track of the time and of his surroundings.

From a distance, he can see the bartender talking to him but he cannot understand what he is saying. Everything is a distant blur. Finally, the bartender leaves him alone. Awhile later, he hears a familiar voice. He looks up to see Bones talking with the bartender. He smiles when he sees her coming towards him and slurs, "Hey. You're here. Are you my present?"

She does not answer but speaks to him soothingly as she helps him up from his barstool.

"Wow. You look amazing." He slurs drunkenly.

She is wearing a thin emerald cotton tank top and jeans. He leans against her bare arms as she helps him to the car and his mind immediately drifts to the soft touch of her creamy skin. Once he is safely inside, she goes around to the other side and climbs in the driver's seat. As she drives back to her house, she keeps glancing at him to make sure he is okay. He has fallen asleep in the passengers' seat, smiling and in that moment, a thought crosses her mind. It is similar to other thoughts she has been unable to control for a while.

This time it is about his smile. When they first met, she immediately knew he attractive, although he had some underlying irksome qualities, which she later discovered when they became partners. He could be cocky and even arrogant sometimes, but when he smiled at her all her senses seemed to leave her body momentarily. A smile from him could melt away all her anger and resentment in a matter of seconds. He had an unusual effect on her, something she was still trying to explain to herself. She had heard some people describe it as "butterflies in the stomach" but that did not make any logical sense, although she understood the labeling of the phrase.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer still applies. Read, review, and enjoy!_

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Brennan threw the crumpled sheet of paper in the wastebasket. She had not been able to sleep since the night she went to pick up Booth at the bar. She knew she was the reason he was drinking and she hated herself for it. She hated that he loved her so much and that she loved him. She hated the way his smile could make her melt and the way he looked out for her, the way he protected her despite her adamant protests. But the truth was she did not really hate anything about him. But pretending to hate him was easier than admitting she loved him even though she already had, to herself. All she really needed to do was say it aloud. But she was afraid. Afraid of exposing those words to air and afraid of what would happen. In a way, she was afraid of the future, of the unknown. So she sat every night with a stack of blank papers, willing herself to come up with something that would guard both their hearts but allow for a relationship, the relationship they both wanted, to develop. But no matter how hard she tried, she could never come up with a clean cut satisfactory result that did not involve any risk. Situation like these were partially the reason she had chosen to major in anthropology. Life was already chaotic enough and she needed some stability in her life. Science is so logical and straightforward, there was always a clear reasonable explanation. But real life was so much harder, so mush messier. You could not write down a formula and follow it. Life was beyond formulas, beyond simple rational solutions. Each person was different, each situation was different. Life was a matter of taking chances and being willing to accept the fact that sometimes you fall. But each fall comes with its silver lining. It was the time before the silver lining she feared the most. The only resolution was for her to take a chance. But she did not know if she was strong enough. She did not want to make a mistake and most of all; she did not want to fail. She did not know how to handle failure especially if the failure meant loosing Booth. He was everything to her and she could not live without him.


	5. Chapter 5

_FYI- Tiny spoiler for __Season Five "The Part in the Sum of the Whole"_

_Disclaimers still applies but read, review, and enjoy anyways!_

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Booth tossed and turned in his bed endlessly. He could not sleep. Again. He has not been able to sleep for a long time. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Brennan. Things have been awkward between them since the night she came to get him at the bar. He did not remember much, except that the bartender called her to take him home. The only details he remembers have to do with her. She looked beautiful especially for three in the morning but then again, she always looked gorgeous. Her aquamarine eyes reminded him of crystal that shone brightly when the lights hit their surface. Her smile was one of the most beautiful things in the world. It pained him to see her unhappy. Every tear was like a knife though his heart. Her creamy skin was so smooth and silky. At the beginning of their partnership, he had convinced her to have "guy hugs", as an excuse to hold her; but she seemed to have figured him out although she did not to stop them. He wanted to be her everything and most of the time, she put up a fight when he tried to protect her. It drove him crazy that she was so independent and self-reliant because it certainly made it her hard to protect, when she refused to listen. But part of him enjoyed the challenge because it was part of what made her Brennan. There were times when she drove him crazy and made him so mad but she had a unique charm hidden in her eyes that when she looked at him, he forgot what he was mad about in the first place and he felt all reason leave his system. He knew that she was the only one for him. He remembers, he knew it, the moment they met. He remembers it like it was yesterday. He showed up at the anthropology seminar she was giving at the university, based on Cam's recommendation. Cam claimed that this woman was, supposedly, the best anthropologist in the world, although he had his doubts. But the second he walked into the room, the instant he saw her up on the stage giving her presentation, she took his breath away momentarily. Her beauty was astounding and paired with her intelligence he felt like he just stepped into heaven, or some form of it. When the presentation was over, he walked over to the stage to introduce himself. He remembers asking her if she believed in fate as they shook hands. She replied in a typical Brennan manner,

"Absolutely not. Ludicrous."Her response, oddly enough seemed to increase his attraction to her. It was clear in her eyes that she felt something, when their eyes met, although she tried to downplay the significance. Flash forward to now and nothing had changed. She still had that effect on him and he could still charm her with his smile. In that moment, he decided he was not going to give up so easily. This was Bones; of course, she was not just going to melt into his lap because he said a few words, even if they were the truth. In fact, he would be worried if she did not resist a bit. She was the best thing that had even happened to him and she had saved him, in a way. Bones was his motivation for pulling his life together, mainly to stop gambling. He could not give up so easily. He would not give up until she told him she did not return his love; and he was sure she did, he felt it in everything she did, the way she looked at him, the way she touched him, the way her eyes lit up when he made her smile. Giving up was not an option.


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer, ugh. I really wish I owned Bones. But I don't, so for now, read, review, and enjoy!_

**CHAPTER SIX**

She could not tell him in person. She could not tell him over the phone. E-mail did not seem right. So she settled on writing a letter. She took a deep breath and put her pen to paper, pouring out her innermost thoughts; the thoughts she had struggled to keep hidden for so long.

Booth,

I have turned this over and over in my mind millions of time but no matter how hard I try, I end up with the same conclusion. I can no longer deny what I really feel. You have been honest and patient with me so I figure I owe you at least that much. I love you. I pushed you away out of fear. Fear of getting hurt, fear of loved, fear of believing in happy endings, fear of being let down. I'm still afraid but when I'm with you, I feel safe. You make me want to try for the unlikely and impossible because I know even if I fail I can make it anywhere, I can do anything, if you're with me.

Love,

Bones

Temperance Brennan

She read and reread the letter, over and over again. Finally, she folded the letter and put in the envelope. She stamped, sealed and addressed the envelope. She grabbed her keys off the front table and walked to the mailbox around the corner. But when she reached the mailbox, as she pulled the hatch opened, she hesitated with the envelope in her hand. She had second thoughts for a brief fleeting second but then she mustered up all her courage and dropped the envelope into the mailbox. All she had to do now was wait.


	7. Chapter 7

_Read, review, and enjoy! (disclaimer still applies)_

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Brennan paces around her living room nervously. She hasn't been able to stop thinking about her letter to Booth. She'd never done something like that before, pour out her innermost thoughts and feelings on a sheet of paper, especially to a man. She'd mailed the letter a few days ago so she should have heard from Booth by now. What if she'd poured her heart out for nothing and he'd already moved on? Or worse, what if he was laughing at her pathetic attempt at a display of emotion. So many thoughts ran through her mind, adding to growing anxiety. Suddenly, a knock on her front door startled her out of her thoughts. She walks over to the entrance to answer the door. She was surprised to see Booth standing on her doorstep. He was rain soaked and holding a sheet of paper in his hand. She immediately recognized it as her letter and her heart skipped a beat.

Booth! You're wet. What on…

But before she could finish his mouth seized hers. He kisses her and she felt a dart of excitement rushing through her body. She flashes back to when they first met.

"_Do you believe in fate?"_

"_Absolutely not. Ludicrous"_

She smiles at the memory and the current moment, before she sinks into him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him back.

She changed her mind…This was so worth the risk.

_****THE END****_


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